The RAVA Scholar Award is presented annually to select area college students who show promise in media production and have brought honor to their profession and to their respective colleges. In addition to a cash award, each RAVA Scholar receives software or merchandise donated by Rochester-area audiovisual companies and organizations. The students also have the opportunity to show samples of their media work to a panel of Rochester media professionals.

Cunningham, from Bay Shore, Long Island, has a concentration in media within his communication major. He also works as a TV production assistant in the SUNY Geneseo Department of Communication. This summer he will intern at Crescent Beach Productions, a production house that specializes in corporate marketing videos. In the future, Cunningham says he'd like to produce and direct live television events.

Past Geneseo RAVA Scholars include Rachel Kingston, a 2008 Geneseo graduate, who is a TV reporter at WIVB-TV in Buffalo, and Cory Gershon, a 2012 Geneseo graduate, who is a video editor at Madison Square Garden in New York City.